April Fool's Day Tennessee Brook Trout is New State Record

Even on a day for jokes, this Tennessee brook trout is one serious new state record.

Sasa Krezic was out for a day of fishing on the Caney Fork River on April 1st, when he set hooks in the biggest Tennessee brook trout ever caught. Weighing in at four pounds and twelve ounces, it would have been a giant brook trout just about anywhere that brook trout swim, but for this Nashville resident, it was no laughing matter.

According to the story, Krezic has been fishing the Caney Fork for many years. However, on that fateful day, his usual spot was a little more crowded than normal so he tried someplace new. As fate would it, his first cast into the new hole placed him firmly in the state record books.

However, it wasn't that easy. After finally landing the big fish that Krezic thought was a funny looking brown, he asked a nearby angler what they thought of the fish. That angler recognized it as a giant Tennessee brook trout and recommended that he contact the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).

A few brief phone calls later and Tony Cross from the TWRA was on the scene.

"I expected to see a brown trout and was surprised when I arrived," said Cross, who also involved Will Collier, a TWRA biologist per state protocols.

Shortly thereafter, Collier, Cross, and Krezic all witnessed the official weigh in on certified scales at a nearby grocery that in fact confirmed the new state record. The previous record of three pounds, fourteen ounces has stood since 1973.